Did you leave soon after your "One Year"?

[RNDreamer]

Hello everyone:

I wanted to read the experiences of any nurses who left their jobs after getting that one year of experience? Was it easy finding another job? Did it take long to find the next job? Has your one year passed, and you are still looking for that dream job you didn't get the first time around? Thanks in advance!

[AusRN]

I have just finished my grad year and don't plan on moving yet, but I'm torn between finding a hospital that has ICU (I'm in country Australia, everything ICU goes to the capital) and staying where I am because I love the people I work with.

I'm only young and don't plan to change careers so I guess I have time, but I am lucky to have found a job I love.

[elkpark]

people that use this "one year" theory are the ones that ruin it for new grads. It cost about 60,000 to train a new grad. If the nurse leaves after one year the hospital is not able to re-coup their money. I would be leery of some one that had only been at one place for one year and was applying to a new job, unless they were applying to the same dept (med-surg experience applying for a med-surg job) and would not need more than a week to orient to the way that hospital did things.

ITA. I stayed in my first nursing job just shy of three years. Granted, that was many years ago, and things have changed a lot in nursing and hospitals since then. Still, Hearts makes a good point. It wasn't that long ago that two years was considered the bare minimum to stay at a single job in order to avoid be considered a "job hopper" and bad employment risk (at any point in your career, not just starting out) -- now, it seems that most of the new grads talk like it's unreasonable to be expected to stay a single year in one place, they're counting down the days until they can leave, and plenty of people here encourage people to stay "at least six months" before quitting their first job. This is a big reason why so many facilities have become unwilling to hire new graduates -- that was happening before the economy tanked, and, IMO, the economy improving won't necessarily improve the situation. I expect that most facilities won't go back to welcoming new grads until there is again such an extreme nursing shortage that they literally have no choice (and it's hard to imagine when that will happen, given how many schools are cranking out huge waves of new grads every year). Or, more and more facilities will implement employment contracts that require a financial penalty if a new grad/hire leaves before a specified amount of time or new grad "internships" at lower wages that reflect the additional costs for extensive orientation.

I worked as a hosptial surveyor for my state and the Feds for several years, and this topic came up all the time in conversation with nursing administration folks in hospitals all over my state. Hospitals are fed up.

[evolvingrn, BSN, RN]

I will be at my year mark in about 4 months, I have zero intention of leaving. I took the job planning to leave at a year but i like my job, my pay is fair and there are opportunities to move out of bedside nursing should i ever desire too. the other day i saw a new nurse orientating and she was coming from the hospital and floor that i had considered my 'dream job'....just reinforces to me that the grass is not always greener.

[southernbelle08]

I left my first job after 9 months. I already had another job before I gave my two weeks notice at my first job. This was in January/February 2009. I left Oncology to go to Med-Surg. Oncology just wasn't a good fit for me emotionally. I am still at the same hospital 2 years later, only I have been in Nursery for over a year now and have NO intentions of leaving. I love my babies to bits!

[Nurseinprocess]

I am still in my same job. Some days are hard, others are okay. On the bad days I might check out jobs at local hospitals. But those jobs that said "1+ years experience preferred" when I graduated 12/09 now say "2-5 yrs experience required." The job market here seems to have gone from bad to worse for new grads. I really feel for those graduating now in CO.

I was looking at open positions recently and the jobs that said "one year experience required" now say 1.5-2 yrs experience . I don't understand how some hospitals expect other hospitals to train all the new grads for them :grn:.

[chuckz, BSN, RN]

I am getting ready to hit my 9 month mark and told the unit I would give them 2 years and that is what I intend to give them. I got hired as a new grad in a trauma one MICU and I am learning a heck of a lot. We had a 4 month preception and it was much needed. I get two patients at a time the most and I usually don't stop the whole 12 hour shift. I think after my 2 years I might do CVICU or SICU. I could do that or go back to the ER. I really don't know. I just know I am going to do the 2 years that is expected of me. I owe that to them for how great they have been to me.

[Darcelise]

I'm a new grad with 8 months on a Med/Surg hospital. I have a 2 year contract and I really have no plans on leaving before then. I sometimes wonder if nursing would be easier at another hospital, but I just don't think I'll be ready to leave after only 1 year. There is so much to learn and I can't imagine going through all the stress of a new hospital when I'm still getting my basic nursing skills down. My goal is to feel confident in myself as a nurse before I pursue a specialty or another hospital. Also, I don't think it looks great to employers when you only stay for 1 year.

[workingspaz]

i spent 4 mos searching for a job.. finally landed one with a whopper of a commute.. but i was grateful. i had a plan, work 2 yrs or more there, take advantage of their RN to BSN program and tuition reimbursement... i made it 5 mos and have not regretted leaving the facility since. yeah, i miss MY crew they were great. however, working conditions and resources... not so much.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

I left my first job after 14 months. It turned out to be a huge mistake.

[FF-PHRN]

In my opinion, leaving a nursing job at one year is essentially a bridge burned. Every different type of unit I have worked on took atleast a year just to get comfortable. If I was a hospital looking at a resume, I would want a good explanation as to why there was a year or less at a unit, ESPECIALLY as a new grad. It takes times to figure each unit out, have more patience than one year.

I am not saying there aren't reasons to leave. Just consider how that looks to the next hospital. JMHO! good luck.

[eyeball]

I left my first job after 14 months. It turned out to be a huge mistake.

Are you able to talk about why?

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

i would want a good explanation as to why there was a year or less at a unit, especially as a new grad. it takes times to figure each unit out, have more patience than one year. i am not saying there aren't reasons to leave. just consider how that looks to the next hospital. jmho! good luck.

yes, which is why most of us who have posted that we landed jobs right away. all of us had good reasons. i personally do not know of a single new nurse that left a position he/she liked. there was always a very very good reason to include poor working conditions and lack of support.

you have 15+ years of experience? then you should have no doubt that new nurses have good reasons. if not, god blessed you so that you did not have the misfortune of working in unsafe or toxic environments. in any case, the nurse managers and directors that hired us understood. they too have many years of experience. thus, if you end up with a new grad nurse who has some experience but less then 1 year, do not assume that he/she was inpatient. be welcoming and give him/her a hug!!!